Chapter 164 : The Sole Tyrant of the Great Desert. -02
Chapter 164: The Sole Tyrant of the Great Desert. -02
The moment the Thief Fiend sensed Ban Hojin’s gaze turning toward him after the Child Fiend had been cleaved in two, he immediately spun around.
If he went just a little farther—if he leapt just one more step—he could seize Seo I-gyeong by the throat. But the Thief Fiend abandoned the attempt.
The instant he moved, it felt as though the Sword Force that had sliced the Child Fiend apart would fly straight at him.
“Your judgment isn’t bad, but your body can’t keep up with your head.”
“Keugh!”
With a scream, the Thief Fiend toppled to the ground.
Both legs had been severed from the knees down.
As if he had not even realized he had been cut, he hovered briefly in midair before rolling across the dirt. Then he swiftly pushed himself up.
Though he had lost both legs, his arms were still intact. He intended to flee once more.
“Your desire to survive is impressive.”
“Gghhk!”
Of course, Ban Hojin had no intention of simply watching.
He unleashed a Wind Blade and shattered the Dantian, then struck the Paralysis Acupoint and the Mute Acupoint before tossing him aside.
He handled the infamous Thief Fiend like a mere sack of luggage.
Then, just as he had said, he swept through the bandits as if exterminating vermin.
“S-Spare me!”
“Aaaagh!”
At first, the bandits had rushed at him. But when they saw Ban Hojin slaughtering without mercy like a grim reaper, they scattered in all directions.
This was no fight—it was a massacre. Every last one of them chose to flee.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“It may be up to you when you come, but not when you leave!”
“Kill as many as you can!”
The Beggars’ Sect members raised their clubs and pursued the bandits as they fled in all directions.
Seo I-gyeong followed behind them.
If they were spared now, there was a high chance they would join the Ironblood Fortress formation. Thus, the Beggars’ Sect members and Seo I-gyeong chased them relentlessly.
But their numbers were too great. There was a limit.
“That’s enough now.”
“It seems we let nearly half of them escape.”
Perhaps because it had been a while since he had fought in a real battle, Seo I-gyeong’s face was flushed with excitement as he spoke.
Beside him, his eldest son Seo Jeong-un was breathing heavily.
“It’s fine. Even if they escaped, they won’t be able to easily join the Ironblood Fortress. The Beggars’ Sect members are spread out all over this area, and above all, this is Shaanxi Province. Shaanxi Province is the territory of the Mount Hua Sect and the Mount Zhongnan Sect. Even if they somehow join, they know full well they won’t receive favorable treatment. Do you think they would still choose to join the Ironblood Fortress?”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
“They’ll probably plan to hide for a few years. Even that won’t be easy.”
If it had been a small number, perhaps. But by rough count, there had been well over a thousand.
With that many people moving at once, there was no way they could leave no trace.
Moreover, the number of Beggars’ Sect members was far greater than most people imagined.
That was why Ban Hojin trusted in the Beggars’ Sect’s capabilities.
“It seems I wasn’t of much help.”
“That can’t be true. No matter how strong someone is, there are limits alone. If it had only been me, I doubt I could have even killed half as many.”
“I think you would have killed more.”
At Ban Hojin’s humble reply, Seo I-gyeong laughed awkwardly.
No matter how he thought about it, the humility seemed excessive.
“Let’s rejoin the main force now.”
“By the way, why did you capture the Thief Fiend alive?”
“He’s hidden quite a few things. I intend to find them and return as much as possible to their rightful owners. And collect a little compensation for the trouble.”
“Mm! Mmmph!”
At Ban Hojin’s words, the Thief Fiend—slung over the shoulder of the oldest Beggars’ Sect member—struggled wildly.
Unable to speak and unable to move, he still let out suppressed howls without pause.
But Ban Hojin did not so much as blink.
“Brother!”
When they returned to their original position, Jeong Iryong and Sama Uiseong welcomed them warmly.
After introducing Seo I-gyeong and Seo Jeong-un to them, Ban Hojin soon called for Seo Joun.
No matter what anyone said, Seo Joun would likely be the happiest to see them.
Before long, the three father and sons had tears welling in their eyes at their long-awaited reunion.
“It’s still not decided.”
“The damage is heavier on the Great War Gods’ side.”
“So it seems.”
Ban Hojin’s gaze quickly swept over the Great War Gods.
As if to show how fierce the battle had been, not one of the six stood unscathed.
But none of them had suffered fatal injuries either.
Sang Il-gi, Namgung Ho, Peng Mancheol, and the Beggar King had all been wounded as well.
Bwoooooong!
At that moment, the heavy horn blast they had heard the day before tore across the battlefield.
The pure white horn, seemingly carved from ivory, sounded once more.
Just like yesterday, the warriors of the Ironblood Fortress began retreating like the ebbing tide.
“We’re not letting you go so easily today!”
“Let’s finish this now!”
This time, however, the response from the Orthodox Martial World was different from yesterday.
Unlike before, when they had all breathed sighs of relief, now they clung on fiercely, determined not to let them withdraw so easily.
The same went for Sang Il-gi’s side.
It seemed that if they pressed just a little further, they might take down one or two more. So they held on stubbornly.
“Hmm.”
At the sight, Ban Hojin furrowed his brow.
For a fleeting moment, he hesitated.
Considering the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress, reducing the number of Great War Gods as much as possible would be advantageous.
He was about to step in—
But at that instant, the retreating Ironblood Fortress warriors hurled themselves toward Sang Il-gi’s group.
Kwang! Boom!
The warriors sacrificed themselves to buy time for the Great War Gods to withdraw.
Thanks to that, the Great War Gods safely retreated back to where the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress stood.
“Ah……”
Sama Uiseong let out a long sigh at the sight.
If they had just pushed a little harder, they might have taken one or two more. In the end, it had failed.
It felt as though prey already in their grasp had slipped away right before their eyes, and Sama Uiseong could not hide his regret.
“They’re retreating.”
“They must have judged that they need to reorganize. At this rate, the losses would be too great. And the Two Fiends and the bandits didn’t manage to inflict much damage either.”
Watching the withdrawing Ironblood Fortress forces, Ban Hojin’s mind began turning rapidly.
He was considering what to do next.
The best outcome would be capturing the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress without stepping in himself, but judging by the current situation, that seemed unlikely.
If so, then there was only one method left.
“We’ve won!”
“The enemy is fleeing!”
Unlike Ban Hojin’s bitter expression, cheers of joy erupted from various parts of the formation.
The result was different from yesterday, and they rejoiced as if they had achieved a true victory.
Unlike yesterday, which had been close to defeat, today was practically a win. And so they shouted in triumph.
“What’s wrong, Brother?”
“Ah… it’s nothing. Just something to think about. More importantly, how does it feel? Commanding a large force.”
Sama Uiseong cautiously asked Ban Hojin, who stood alone with a serious expression while everyone else celebrated.
He wondered if something was wrong.
At that, Ban Hojin composed his expression and changed the subject.
“It feels surreal. And I have many regrets. I keep thinking that if I had done better, even if we couldn’t have wiped them out, we could have inflicted more damage.”
“You have to take into account that it’s your first time. Even this is remarkable. Think about your age.”
“I’m still lacking in many ways. I’m not good enough at responding to variables. The bandits were truly unexpected.”
Even though he had created a far better situation than yesterday, Sama Uiseong did not celebrate first. Instead, he thought about what needed improvement.
It was his innate drive for self-improvement that made him so.
And being close to a perfectionist, such an ambiguous victory did not feel like a true win to him.
Coldly speaking, it was more accurate to say they had merely held the line well.
“Life is a series of variables to begin with. And it’s not that your ability is lacking, but that there are limits to how much you can exercise it. That too can be seen as your shortcoming, perhaps—but no one gets full from the first spoonful. At least from my perspective, you did more than enough. Allow yourself to be a little happy. That way, you’ll have strength when it’s time to prepare.”
“Yes!”
There was not a single word wrong, and so Sama Uiseong smiled faintly.
It was not a perfect victory, but it was certainly better than yesterday. Deep down, he did feel proud.
After all, he had created this result with his own hands.
Perhaps because of that, unlike before the battle began, confidence now shone in his eyes.
Seated atop the Four-Man Palanquin, the middle-aged man, In Gyeongbo, slowly swept his gaze over his subordinates.
Perhaps because they had not eaten properly, the overall mood was visibly subdued.
They had slaughtered horses as a temporary measure, but it had not been enough to fill everyone’s stomachs.
On top of that, their physical condition was not the same as yesterday, and faint wrinkles formed at the corners of In Gyeongbo’s eyes.
“Today, we will sweep those bastards away without fail, Lord of the Ironblood Fortress.”
“We will offer the heads of the Four Kings to you, Lord of the Ironblood Fortress!”
The Great War Gods, having noticed that In Gyeongbo’s mood was foul, bowed their heads and shouted.
But in their resolute voices, In Gyeongbo sensed unease.
From their expressions alone, he could tell that the tide of battle was no longer in Ironblood Fortress’s favor.
And that was entirely different from what he had anticipated.
“Hm.”
Despite the determination blazing in their eyes, In Gyeongbo said nothing.
He simply gazed toward the south.
In truth, In Gyeongbo had not thought it would be particularly difficult to seize Shaanxi Province.
This level of resistance was to be expected, and with the capabilities of the Great War Gods, he had believed that conquering Shaanxi Province would be easy.
If the Central Plains had the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, then the Great Desert had the Great War Gods.
Moreover, only three among the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven had participated in this battle, which made him believe it would be even easier.
Yet the result was not so.
‘Instead, we lost four.’
He had expected some losses.
Even if the Central Plains Murim had grown complacent in peace, its long-proven foundation would not vanish so easily.
But he had not expected losses of this magnitude.
He had thought that while there might be some struggle, Shaanxi Province would fall without much difficulty.
Instead, things had come to this.
“P-Please trust us just one more time!”
“This time, we will not disappoint you!”
Seeing In Gyeongbo occasionally frown with an expressionless face, the Great War Gods became restless.
From experience, they knew well that such silence often preceded an explosion.
Moreover, having displayed incompetence thus far, they did not dare lift their heads.
“Not disappoint me?”
“Yes!”
“This time, we will certainly—!”
Seated in the Four-Man Palanquin, In Gyeongbo looked at the Great War Gods—now reduced to six—one by one.
But he felt no trust in any of them.
Two chances had already been more than sufficient.
“That’s enough.”
“M-My Lord!”
“Move out.”
After glancing over the Great War Gods, In Gyeongbo issued an order to the four Escort Guards who also served as palanquin bearers.
At once, despair spread across the faces of the Great War Gods.
They knew full well what his words meant.
Srrrk.
In the meantime, the Four-Man Palanquin carrying In Gyeongbo glided forward as if sliding across the ground.
But its position was markedly different from yesterday.
Yesterday, it had followed behind the warriors at the rear.
Today, it stood at the very front.
“What are you doing? Follow him at once!”
The Spear Lord, who had been staring blankly at the sight, suddenly snapped back to his senses.
They could not simply stand by and watch.
Soon, the six Great War Gods hurriedly followed behind In Gyeongbo.
Swish.
Seated at an angle atop the Four-Man Palanquin, In Gyeongbo fixed his gaze ahead.
Just like yesterday, the moment he moved, the Orthodox Martial World’s formation began to stir restlessly.
But from the very beginning, his eyes had been set on only one place.
He was staring at a youth who looked more boyish than young—Ban Hojin, known in the Central Plains as the Divine Dragon.
“So at only twenty-one, he killed the Mad Wolf.”
In the opposing formation stood no fewer than four of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.
Yet In Gyeongbo’s gaze did not leave Ban Hojin.
The Beggar King, the Yama King, the Blade King, and the Blade King were undoubtedly formidable experts.
But to him, they were not particularly threatening.
Ban Hojin, however, was different.
“If the Divine Dragon displeases you, I will deal with him.”